Guru's treasure has disciples fighting over his empire

Gethin Chamberlain

PANAJI, Goa: The Indian guru Sai Baba's life seemed to have it all: sex, money and religion.

A lifetime of claiming to be the incarnation of God had brought him an $8.2 billion fortune and a worldwide following of 50 million people. It also brought accusations that he molested his young acolytes and passed off cheap trickery as miracles.

Yet his extraordinary life could be eclipsed by the saga that has played out since his death in April: a story of hidden treasure troves and missing millions set against a bitter struggle for control of his enormous empire.

In his prime, the diminutive holy man with the bright orange robes and huge afro haircut counted kings and presidents among his friends.

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The actor Goldie Hawn visited his ashram at least three times and donated tens of thousands of dollars; the Duchess of York paid a call after her marriage broke up; and Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian cricketer, gave $60,000 for a statue of the guru.

The Hard Rock Cafe founder, Isaac Tigrett, one of the guru's earliest and staunchest supporters, borrowed Sai Baba's ''love all, serve all'' slogan for his restaurant chain to help publicise the guru's message.

Countless Indian politicians and Bollywood stars also claimed inspiration from his message of putting service above self.

Sai Baba's sprawling, non-denominational ashram in the town of Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh was a beacon for Indians and westerners seeking spiritual enlightenment, no matter what their original religion - which the guru said they could maintain.

Now, though, the centre is the focus of a scandal: the guru's closest aides have turned on each other, there are complaints of death threats and police have been called in.

The edifice began to crumble when members of the Sathya Sai Central Trust, which runs the ashram, bowed to increasingly insistent demands to open the guru's private chambers, which had been locked since the 84 year-old became ill in March.

What they found made even the wildest rumours seem tame: stacked around the room were piles of gold, diamonds and cash. Cashiers with counting machines were summoned and reported that the haul included $2.4 million in rupees, 100 kilograms of gold and 300 kilograms of silver.

And there were rumours of more treasure, sent by millions of devoted followers in the belief it would be used to spread his teachings or help the poor and sick, squirrelled away in secret chambers. Sai Baba's niece, Chetana Raju, said she received death threats for complaining about the search.

One source within the ashram said: ''The police have definite intelligence of the existence of secret vaults, and concealed storage in false ceilings and behind false walls in Sai Baba's personal living quarters. They strongly believe that the wealth hidden there could be much more than what was actually found, perhaps on a staggering scale.''

Suspicion began to grow that vast sums had already been smuggled out. Police stopped one of the trust's cars near the border with a neighbouring state and found the equivalent of $75,000 in cash inside.

The revelations have tested the faith of the staunchest devotees, said a former member of Sai Baba's security and intelligence wing.

''Some blame trust members,'' the member said, ''while a few are asking, 'Why did Swami have to keep so much gold and cash? Didn't Swami always say he never accepted gifts?' Who to believe or what to believe?''

Even Sai Baba's most vociferous critics are taken aback by the speed with which the empire is unravelling. Robert Priddy was once a believer but lost his faith as the allegations of sexual abuse which dogged Sai Baba's final decades began to mount. ''Devotees around India have at last begun to raise many questions and demand answers about the riches of Sai Baba and other gurus,'' he said.

Even if the followers start to drift away, there is still a $8 billion empire up for grabs, including 1200 centres in more than 100 countries and a string of hospitals and schools around the world - and there is no shortage of contenders to take control.

The front-runners include 39-year-old RJ Ratnakar, the guru's nephew, who owns a petrol station and a cable television network, and Satyajit, 33, Sai Baba's closest companion for nine years. But they face a spirited challenge from Mr Tigrett.

He donated $6 million to build a hospital at the ashram where he spent much of the past few years. He claims to be the guru's ''living will''. Sai Baba had, he said, confided in him about his plans for the future of the organisation - and he would reveal all later this year.

That cut no ice with the board members of the trust, however, who dismissed his claims.

For former devotees like Robert Priddy, all this is proof that they were right to walk away when they did.